Is $10 enough for auto-tip?

[ahracer]

On the other hand we pay thousands of dollars for our long trips...which makes me wonder what kind of basic salary Princess pays their employees....is it based on past experience or what?

 

The cruiselines pay the service staff (waiters, cabin steward) almost nothing, there income comes from the tips.

 

The officers and other positions are paid a salary.

 

Scott

[critterchick]

I guess the question is how much do you consider "enough" of a gratuity? I think $3.50/day per person for the basics is generous for a cabin steward doing the basics. We usually tip housekeeping $2/day total in a nice hotel for morning cleanup and turndown service. I know they probably make a lot more, being unionized and all, but I can only close the wage gap so much.

 

If we receive extraordinary service (and all I want is a smile, maybe ice twice a day so it's not melted by suppertime - really, I'm not a difficult person to please), we'll tip over the automatic amount. It hasn't happened often on Princess, but it happens all the time on Royal Caribbean. I do notice a difference in the service between the two lines. Maybe it's because RCCI doesn't have auto-tipping.

[TOPLE55]

:confused: This may be a stupid question, but I have not yet been on a cruise. How do we know how much the employees of the cruise lines make? I have seen this posted many times that they don't make much money, but how much is not much? Is tipping their entire salary? I'm not trying to be insensitive, I just don't know the answers to these questions.:confused:

[spongerob]

No, that's a fair question, Tople55. The numbers vary somewhat depending on who does the reporting, but for arguments' sake you can assume that the average room steward is probably earning about $50 salary, plus room and board of course. The majority of their income, which can be considerable compared to what they might be able to earn at home, comes from tips. The amount each person eligible for the pooled auto-tips varies depending on position and experience.

 

It sounds like auto-tipping is coming to RCI, too, Critterchik. Thankfully, we have almost always had outstanding cabin stewards on Princess.

[bjboothman]

Yes $10 a day is enough. If my room steward is particularly great we give him a small cash tip as well. DH always tips bar waiters and gets lots of attention and service from them even half the time he is usally drinking free coffee or coke with a card. But that's why he tips them, as they don't make money serving free cokes. We use anytime dining and I think it's pretty rare that I find a waiter who I think goes above and beyond the mandatory tip. That might be different in traditional dining where you establish a rapport with the waiters.

 

I'd love to know how much you folks tip the hotel staff on land-based vacations if you think that $7.00/day for a double room is meager. Tell me that when you take two children you leave the mandatory $14.00 at the hotel just as you do on the ship. The roomkeepers must love you.

[regnig]

Rob I, or should I say our entire normal group of 8 cruisers, would certainly not mind seeing the $10 go up a bit. We always add extra at the end of the cruise. I don't really think it is unusual that we have alway received very good service from all the staff. It really amazes me that people will pay $2000 and up for two people on a weeks' cruise and then balk at paying $140 in tips. As I remember on a thread several months ago we tried to break down just the tips for the dining staff based on 'average' costs of the three meals consumed. The $6.50 a day falls so far short of what would be spent on tips for land based resturants it isn't funny. Prior to the auto tip policy being put in place Princess's 'recommended tip amounts' were the same as the way they now divide it up. Sure seems like these hard working souls sure need a raise. Most people wouldn't work without a raise for over 15 years! :eek:

 

I do know that folks in Europe aren't accustomed to the U.S. form of tipping and that it sometimes causes quite a bit of confussion. It just might be a good idea if Princess just took the time to explain it and the fact that they don't pay these people diddly-squat. Without tips these people are working for pennies a day.

[kruisey]

I wonder if an employee from Princess could actually give us all an idea of the wages they receive from Princess (in a round about secret way).?? Have heard so many many woeful stories from the employees regarding this issue....that it makes me sometimes tip more than I really can afford due to the fact I feel so sorry for them.

[Ethel5]

We leave the auto-tip in place and then give cash tips at the end of the cruise. I have never had bad service-some have been better than others, but noe has been bad. The cash tip goes according to service.

[critterchick]

Larsen, I don’t think too many people here at least are balking at the current autotip, just at having it go up. You raise an interesting point: The Princess autotip is that same for an inside cabin as for a Premium Suite, is it not? RCI actually recommends a larger tip for their Grand Suites & up, so if you put it on your room, you will be charged a higher amount.

“Normal” tipping in the U.S. is a percentage of the bill, which of course the cruiseline isn’t going to figure out for you, and most passengers wouldn’t even try, hence the “one size fits all” approach. But I have to think that a steward in a suite does a whole lot more work than one who has an inside stateroom. Even if he or she has fewer rooms, that just reduces the number of people who will tip him or her. And I’m guessing (not having been there yet) that Suite People require more attention – drink setups, extra barware, towels, canapes, etc. So the people serving those cabins could be doing more work for far less tip money, unless the people staying in the suites are more generous than the recommended amount.

 

Here’s a fun link: http://www.findalink.net/tippingetiquette.php. For cruise ships, they have the following guidelines:

 

Cruise ships

 

Many cruise ships have a no-tipping policy. Find out in advance. If you are supposed to tip, find out if it is done at the end of the trip or at the time of service. Oftentimes, at the end of the cruise you are provided envelopes with suggested tip amounts. If you are supposed to tip, budget about $20 per day.

 

Waiter - $3 per day per person.

Cabin steward - $3 per day per person.

Bus boy - $1.5 per day per person.

maitre d' - Not necessary unless special services provided.

Bar steward - Usually, 15% is automatically added to bill.

Notice that these rates are lower than either Princess or RCI. Not to mention some mistaken terminology. Busboy? Try assistant waiter maybe? But now I'm quibbling, aren't I?

[Globaliser]

Tipping in the US differs than what you are used to in the UK. Here the only time you would not tip would be for terrible service and even then most people leave a small amount.

Exactly - it's become the same situation. When you tip at a restaurant in the US, you're not tipping. You're paying the staff's wages because the restaurant is not paying them directly - or not paying them properly.

 

When in the US, I do what I know I'm supposed to do (as on cruises). But I believe it's wrong, because it's called "tipping" but it isn't tipping. Or, as they might have said on Star Trek ...

[regnig]

Larsen, I don’t think too many people here at least are balking at the current autotip, just at having it go up. You raise an interesting point: The Princess autotip is that same for an inside cabin as for a Premium Suite, is it not? RCI actually recommends a larger tip for their Grand Suites & up, so if you put it on your room, you will be charged a higher amount.

“Normal” tipping in the U.S. is a percentage of the bill, which of course the cruiseline isn’t going to figure out for you, and most passengers wouldn’t even try, hence the “one size fits all” approach. But I have to think that a steward in a suite does a whole lot more work than one who has an inside stateroom. Even if he or she has fewer rooms, that just reduces the number of people who will tip him or her. And I’m guessing (not having been there yet) that Suite People require more attention – drink setups, extra barware, towels, canapes, etc. So the people serving those cabins could be doing more work for far less tip money, unless the people staying in the suites are more generous than the recommended amount.

 

 

critterchick - Yes, the auto tip is the same regardless of the cabin assignment.

I can only speak from our own experience but the two times we treated ourselves and booked a mini-suite on the Sun/Dawn we personally did leave more 'extra' for our room steward since those mini-suites are twice the size of a regular room and did require more of his time to clean. It also appeared that both times the steward did not have as many assigned cabins as normal. Although we were not very needy of any extra services we tried to apply the same tipping principles we would have at an upscale land based hotel.

 

My gut guess is that there are a lot of people who cruise who drop the auto tip and then don't leave anything at all. Our crowd, and the rest of you who leave extra, will just have to continue to make up for them. I've raised 4 kids who all found themselves waiting tables at some point in their early lives and the stories they all tell about being 'stiffed' would make you cringe. Believe it or not the 'stiffers' were usually the ones who appeared to have the most. Go figure!

[bdjam]

I'd love to know how much you folks tip the hotel staff on land-based vacations if you think that $7.00/day for a double room is meager. Tell me that when you take two children you leave the mandatory $14.00 at the hotel just as you do on the ship. The roomkeepers must love you.

My stays at land hotels come with the knowledge that those working there are making a fairly good wage without tips, especially in the United States where union rules apply. I know that this is not the case on board ship and so I tip more freely at sea.

But I believe it's wrong, because it's called "tipping" but it isn't tipping.

Yeah it is – because as opposed to wages, tips are at the discretion of the customer. Even the auto-tip is not “mandatory” as stated in a previous post. Given that the employer is satisfied with the employee’s performance, a wage will be paid. An employee that gives excellent service to a customer who is too cheap to tip doesn’t get tipped.

 

As one who worked in the service industry, let me tell you that if it weren’t for the tips, many would not be able to economically make it – and I’m talking land based jobs. You are correct; employers pay minimum wages expecting customer’s tips to make up the difference. What is unfortunate is that customers either fail to realize that or ignore the fact. So someone may have an enjoyable evening at a restaurant with excellent service but because they don’t subscribe to the principle, the server who provided the excellent experience gets shorted. Not tipping because of the principle that the employer should pay a fair wage doesn't do anything but hurt the service employee.

 

The unfortunate thing is that those ship-board aren’t able to reciprocate for no tip with the appropriate level of service. When working in the business, my co-workers and I knew who wasn’t tipping and they were taken care of appropriately. Those who were tipping got good service and those who were regulars or were tipping well got excellent service. Yes, we adjusted how we did our jobs based on the pay from the customer – seems logical. And let’s not mention those who relished not tipping. But given the tradition of tipping on the last night, the poor staff on board doesn’t even have a chance.

All I can say to those who don’t tip generously is that they should give a service job for tips a try. You’ll see a whole different side of life.

 

 

[Reneek]

We always, always tip for service from porters, bellhops,bar staff, maids, hairdressers, valet service and restaurant wait staff, etc. I have not ever truly thought about or felt the need to also tip the laundry, the dishwasher, the janitorial service, etc. I really feel that those services and salaries are in fact the employer's total responsibility and just a part of doing business.

 

Someone posted that a portion of the tip assessment goes to people in these behind the scenes jobs. Are you sure? If so, I feel even worse for the tips I have left on past cruises because, while good tips, it just doesn't go so far if split between 5 - 10 people.

 

We always provide additional tips to our service personnel. I don't believe the assessed fees are divided according to who served that particular stateroom. If you take off the assessed tipping ($10/day) because your service was poor - I believe you effect the whole service staff - not just the one you intended to send a message to.

[bhopal21]

Our crowd, and the rest of you who leave extra, will just have to continue to make up for them. I've raised 4 kids who all found themselves waiting tables at some point in their early lives and the stories they all tell about being 'stiffed' would make you cringe. Believe it or not the 'stiffers' were usually the ones who appeared to have the most. Go figure!

 

Larsen, I have one word for your post . . . AMEN.

 

And for those who are concerned about the wages paid by the cruise lines, it is none of our business. How much do you make?

 

I will tip additionally according to service, not whether the cabin steward makes $5000 a year or $60000.

 

If one is so concerned about leaving an additional $1 or $5 when receiving attentive service they should not be on a cruise.

 

I am off the soapbox now.

 

Mike :p

[chrysalis]

And for those who are concerned about the wages paid by the cruise lines, it is none of our business. How much do you make?

 

..and "amen" to you for that.

 

It reminds me of a person on an excursion with us in Dominica last year. That person kept interupting the guide's presentations with questions like "how much money do you make a year?". We paid to learn about the Island, not to hear this one person constantly asking personal questions.

 

marc

[kruisey]

Larsen, I have one word for your post . . . AMEN.

 

And for those who are concerned about the wages paid by the cruise lines, it is none of our business. How much do you make?

 

I will tip additionally according to service, not whether the cabin steward makes $5000 a year or $60000.

 

If one is so concerned about leaving an additional $1 or $5 when receiving attentive service they should not be on a cruise.

 

I am off the soapbox now.

 

Mike :p

When I mentioned earlier in this thread about the salaries paid to the employees.....it was because of conversations with the employees which made me feel so sorry for them that I gave them more than I would normaly do.....and normally I tip very well for good service.

Must say I think Mike it was rather arrogant of you to make the remark Quote'If one is so concerned about leaving an additional $1 or $5 when receiving attentive service they should not be on a cruise'Unquote.

So if a hard working couple save up for a cruise....they are not supposed to take one if they don't have alot of cash between them?

[bdjam]

So if a hard working couple save up for a cruise....they are not supposed to take one if they don't have alot of cash between them?

It used to be that when you figured the price of a cruise, you included the tips in the final number. Then, when you were saving up for that cruise, you’d theoretically save enough to pay for the tips as well as the cruise. I do agree – if one can’t afford to properly pay for a cruise – including proper tips, they should not attempt to buy it. I would say that goes for a cruise, a car, a house, a plasma TV or anything else. I don't think it fair that the staff on board has to suffer because someone didn't budget properly.

[Globaliser]

If one is so concerned about leaving an additional $1 or $5 when receiving attentive service they should not be on a cruise.

To follow that logic, perhaps one shouldn't care either about whether a ship's cocktail costs $5, or $10, or $15? And one shouldn't care that two $5 drinks have been put on the bill, even though one has only ordered and drunk one?

 

However much I have paid for a service, I will feel that I'm being ripped off if I'm being asked to pay again for something that I believe I've already paid for. It's got nothing to do with the amount of money involved.

 

"Tipping" for normal service on a ship (just like "tipping" for normal service in restaurants in the US) is only OK - and no better than just OK - because the truth is that the headline price I've already paid hasn't gone towards paying the staff. (Which is pretty abhorrent.)

[kruisey]

It used to be that when you figured the price of a cruise, you included the tips in the final number. Then, when you were saving up for that cruise, you’d theoretically save enough to pay for the tips as well as the cruise. I do agree – if one can’t afford to properly pay for a cruise – including proper tips, they should not attempt to buy it. I would say that goes for a cruise, a car, a house, a plasma TV or anything else. I don't think it fair that the staff on board has to suffer because someone didn't budget properly.

 

All of you on a tight budget don't be put off..........persons like myself and others make up for the tipping you cannot manage.

Personally I think the cruise lines should pay at the very least a living wage to all their employees ....its dreadful that they have to rely on tips only.I for one pay a good not bargain prices for my cruise. I notice that Carnival Lines made a good profit for their stockholders last year.

[spongerob]

All I can add is that when I've been asked to work far from home for extended periods of time, my generous compensation package has been significantly sweetened as partial compensation. Don't forget that many of the people serving you are supporting families back home - families they don't see for months at a time.

 

If I took a typical Las Vegas day in comparison, our typical tips would be, $5 for chamber service, $4 tip for breakfast at decent buffet or coffee shop, $5-6 for lunch, and $10-15 for supper. At $10 per person per day on a ship, I'm getting off cheap, and it seems a pittance given that the service is equal or better than anything you typically get on land.

[bdjam]

All of you on a tight budget don't be put off..........persons like myself and others make up for the tipping you cannot manage.

Personally I think the cruise lines should pay at the very least a living wage to all their employees ....its dreadful that they have to rely on tips only.I for one pay a good not bargain prices for my cruise. I notice that Carnival Lines made a good profit for their stockholders last year.

Wait a minute – the reason I tip heavy isn’t because I want to make up for someone else’s lack of – well, I don’t know lack of what…manners? Propriety? Fairness? I tip for my own reasons and not to make up for people who either have not budgeted properly or have decided they should skip out on giving some thanks to the people who took care of them for a week. Please don’t assume that I think it anything less than irresponsible to go on a vacation without the proper funds to pay for it. Some people manage their financial lives that way and it’s no wonder we’re up to our armpits in bankruptcies.

And as for cruise lines paying a “living wage” to its employees, what living wage would that be? There’s a different standard in the US and Canada than there is in Cambodia. If cruise lines were paying at the US standard, you and I would be paying quite a bit more for our cruises. Is this a bad thing? I don’t think so. Is it what the cruising public wants? I don’t think so. Already everyone is out to get every bit of the $699 they pay for seven days, heaven forbid that a couple of hundred be added to that to cover wages.

And yes, Carnival Corporation made a good profit for its stockholders. That’s the objective of publicly held companies. Now that the expectation of a good profit has been established, Carnival will need to continue to perform. Watch what that brings.

To follow that logic, perhaps one shouldn't care either about whether a ship's cocktail costs $5, or $10, or $15? And one shouldn't care that two $5 drinks have been put on the bill, even though one has only ordered and drunk one?

 

However much I have paid for a service, I will feel that I'm being ripped off if I'm being asked to pay again for something that I believe I've already paid for. It's got nothing to do with the amount of money involved.

I don’t see the correlation – tipping isn’t asking you to pay for something you already have…tipping is entirely optional. You can leave a Princess ship without leaving a tip – remove it from your stateroom account and don’t give any cash to anyone. Of course don’t expect any friendly goodbyes.

"Tipping" for normal service on a ship (just like "tipping" for normal service in restaurants in the US) is only OK - and no better than just OK - because the truth is that the headline price I've already paid hasn't gone towards paying the staff.

I would take exception with this as well – more than likely, the fare you have paid has gone to paying the staff. Unfortunately, they’re not paid much. Given there is a custom of tipping on board ships, the tips make up for differences between what they are paid and what is adequate payment. Either way, you’re going to pay for it – if more of your passage went into staff salary, your passage would cost more. It’s that simple.

What I think people don’t understand is that the service industry does not provide high margins of profit. People think that paying $40 for dinner at a restaurant should take care of everything, but there are a lot of costs that are hidden in running this kind of business that aren’t considered. It’s not just a matter of the proprietor taking more than his share and the staff suffering.

[kruisey]

No wonder Princess cannot afford to pay their employees with rates as low as $699 for 7 days . How do they manage to even get a profit at that price with food and services included ?????? Who could complain about anything on board at that price.??????????? The least I've ever paid is $3400.

[geoherb]

We just got back from a Celebrity cruise. Since our most recent cruises had been on Princess, we liked the convenience of charging tips to our accounts. We did this on Celebrity--but it's just an option, not automatically set up for all the passengers. On Celebrity, it was $10.50 per passenger per day. That covers $3.50 for the waiter, $2.00 for the assistant waiter, $0.75 for the assistant maitre d', $3.50 for the cabin steward, and $0.75 for the assistant chief housekeeper. In all honesty, we never saw the assistant chief housekeeper and would not have tipped someone in that position. But they probably shake down the cabin stewards to get a portion of tips when passengers don't tip them directly.

 

As on Princess, we tipped a few extra at the end of our cruise--our waiters and cabin steward. On a couple of Princess cruises, we haven't tipped our waiters extra because they weren't quite good--not bad enough to complain about, but not good enough to get extra.

 

We love to find a bargain cruise. At $10 a day in tips, the percentage worked out to be only 12 percent of the fare when we were on the Grand.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I liked how Disney handled the tips better, you did it at the end of the cruise and they also left a space after every drink so you could tip extra if you chose to, it made it easier. That being said, Disney's guidelines are a lot more than Princess. The suggested tip from a year ago and this is per person including children is:

3 night cruise 4 night 7 night

Dining Room Server: $11.00 $14.75 $25.75

Asst. server: 8.00 10.75 18.75

Head Server: 2.75 3.75 6.50

Stateroom Host: 10.75 14.50 25.25

 

As you can see this adds up to a lot more. For my family of 5 the minimum that I leave on our 7 night cruises is $381.25 on Princess they only suggest $10 per cabin per day, that's a huge difference!

[bjboothman]

I liked how Disney handled the tips better, you did it at the end of the cruise and they also left a space after every drink so you could tip extra if you chose to, it made it easier. That being said, Disney's guidelines are a lot more than Princess. The suggested tip from a year ago and this is per person including children is:

3 night cruise 4 night 7 night

Dining Room Server: $11.00 $14.75 $25.75

Asst. server: 8.00 10.75 18.75

Head Server: 2.75 3.75 6.50

Stateroom Host: 10.75 14.50 25.25

 

As you can see this adds up to a lot more. For my family of 5 the minimum that I leave on our 7 night cruises is $381.25 on Princess they only suggest $10 per cabin per day, that's a huge difference!

 

$10/PERSON/Day times 5 people x 7 days = $350, not a huge difference